Roof Beam Reader
Adam Burgess
January Check-In #TBRYear10
Hello, TBR Pile Challengers!
Yahoo! It’s time for our very first Challenge Check-in. As a reminder, the deadline to sign-up for this challenge is January 31st, 2023, so if you know of someone who would love to join and/or if you have been trying to make up your mind, here’s your chance. P.S. This also means currently registered participants should feel free to make a change, up to January 31st, provided the link leads to an updated list as of that date.
Progress: 1 of 12 Completed
So far, I’ve read 1 of my 12 challenge books! This puts me at 100% on pace, except, of course, I still haven’t written the review for it, even though I tell myself every morning that “I’m going to write it today!” Oh well. After all, tomorrow is another day. Still, I’m glad to be on track. My plan is to read one TBR Challenge book and one Friends’ Recommendation book each month, with an extra in the summer months, and that will ensure that I read all 27 of my “challenge” books before the end of this year.
The next book scheduled from my challenge list is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.
Books Read:
- The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
How are you doing?
Below, you’re going to find the infamous Mr. Linky widget. If you read and review any challenge books this month, please link-up on the widget below. This Mr. Linky will be re-posted every month so that we can compile a large list of all that we’re reading and reviewing together this year. Each review that is linked-up on this widget throughout the year may also earn you entries into future related giveaways, so don’t forget to keep this updated!
2022 Challenge Winner
In 2022, there were a total of 226 entries at the end of the year. That’s amazing! It’s now time to announce the winner of the overall challenge. Congratulations to Fanda from Fanda’s Classic Lit! The randomly drawn entry from the final list was Fanda’s review of 84, Charing Cross Road. Fanda will win up to $50 in books, or a $50 gift card to a bookstore of choice.
Be sure to come back for February’s check-in for mini-challenge #1 and your chance to win a book of choice ($20USD or less) from The Book Depository! (All mini-challenge and annual challenge winners need to have registered for the challenge on/before January 31, 2023, and will need to have participated by commenting on challenge posts and/or linking up challenge list book reviews.)
CLICK HERE TO LINK UP YOUR REVIEWS
Friends Recommending Reads
New Year, New Challenges.
I mean that in a good way, this time.
Actually, this year, I’m determined to only participate in one reading challenge, which is my tenth anniversary edition of the TBR Pile Challenge, hosted right here at the Roof Beam Reader blog! There’s still time to sign-up, by the way, but not much!
I did also jump on the “Recommend Me a Book” meme that was floating around social media. The gist is to ask friends/family to recommend you one book to read in 2023, to collect a total of twelve titles (ideally, one per month.) I made the request back on January 2nd and received a total of thirteen different suggestions.
I’m going to do my best to read all thirteen, but I’m listing them here as the core twelve (in keeping spirit with the original challenge) plus one alternate. Below, listed in no particular order, are the titles my friends and family recommended that I’ll be adding to my TBR for 2023. What do you think!?
- True Biz by Sara Novic (recommended by Sara S.)
- Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (recommended by Andrew B.)
- Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (recommended by Bev H.)
- Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree (recommended by Allie D.) (Completed Feb. 17)
- The Lure by Felice Picano (recommended by Ryan G.)
- The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum (recommended by Lori W.)
- A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (recommended by Tracy S.)
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Recommended by Darlene O.) (Completed May 2)
- The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (Recommended by Laurie)
- Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima (Recommended by Esther H.) (Completed Jan. 21)
- Pied Piper by Nevil Shute (Recommended by Nany H.)
- The Winds of War by Herman Wouk (Recommended by Janet)
Alternate/Bonus: A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard (Recommended by Gretchen A.)
Thanks to my friends who sent in their suggestions! I have only read three of these authors so far (Picano, Wharton, and Mishima), but not the ones recommended, here. I’m looking forward to the whole list, to be honest, perhaps especially Dark Matter, which has been on my radar for a long time, and The Sea of Fertility, as I have a bunch of Mishima on my shelves, but somehow, I missed this particular tetralogy (and it sounds perfect for me!)
What are you reading this week?
See you on Jan. 15th for our first #TBRYear10 check-in!
2022 Monthly Retrospective
Happy New Year!
As I mentioned in my 2022 Year in Review, I’m back today to share my favorite reads of the last year. I decided to share one book from each month, so a total of twelve. This is, of course, a bit of an arbitrary way of doing it, and it will ultimately leave out some of my best/favorite reads of the year, but oh well, nothing is perfect!
Don’t forget, too, that the TBR Pile Challenge is back for the tenth year! (#TBRYear10) In celebration, the final end prize will be double the usual: a $100 gift card to a bookstore/website of choice! Now, on to my twelve favorites of 2022, one from each month.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
So, there they are! My favorite read from each month in 2022 (sort of). Some of these were REALLY difficult choices, as there were certain months where I read a few 5-star books. The stress of picking just one! Ultimately, when it came down to making a choice, I tried to pick one that I didn’t highlight in my end of year survey.
Incidentally, I’ve started my first book of the new year, James Brandon’s The Edge of Being, which I’m really excited about because his first novel, Ziggy, Stardust and Me, is one of my absolute favorites.
I’d love to hear what your favorite reads of 2022 were! And what book are you reading to start 2023? Please share in the comments!
My Year in Review: 2022
Near the end of 2020, I told myself I would slow down my reading in 2021. That didn’t happen. So, at the end of 2021, I said I’d try again this year. Gues what? It didn’t happen. In recent days, I’ve found myself saying to myself, “You’re going to do it in 2023. You’re going to read just 20 or 30 books, deeply and slowly.” Anyone want to take bets? Ha!
Some good news in reading, though, is that I read 13 out of 12 books on my TBR Pile Challenge and I’m bringing that challenge back again for YEAR 10 in 2023. I also “beat” my Goodreads reading challenge multiple times, finally ending at two over my last adjusted challenge goal.
Here’s how things went:
- Number Of Books Read: 104
- Number of Re-Reads: 2
- Genre Read Most: Poetry
- Best Book You Read in 2022?
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Lit Fic)
- Attack of the Black Rectangles by A.S. King (Kid’s Fic)
- Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (Poetry)
- Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison (Non-Fiction)
- A Book You Enjoyed from an Indie Press:
- Vindicated: A Novel of Mary Shelley by Kathleen Williams Renk
- Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going to Love More?
- The Philosopher’s Handbook by Stanley Rosen
- Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
- The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage (didn’t expect it to be that good!)
- Book You “Pushed” The Most People to Read (And They Did)?
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- Best series you started? Best Sequel of 2022? Best Series Ender of 2022?
- New Series: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
- Sequel: The Titan’s Bride, vol. 2 by ITKZ
- Series Ender: N/A
- Favorite new author you discovered?
- Jesmyn Ward (Sing, Unburied, Sing is stunning!)
- Best book from a genre you don’t typically read?
- The Titan’s Bride (manga/erotica)
- Most action-packed/thrilling/un-put-down-able book of the year?
- The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
- Book You Are Most Likely to Re-Read?
- The Dhammapada
- Favorite cover of a book you read in 2022?
- Most memorable character of 2022?
- Janet from O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
- Most beautifully written book read in 2022?
- The Dove in the Belly by Jim Grimsley
- Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2022?
- How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo
- Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2022 to finally read?
- Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace
- Favorite Passage/Quote from a Book You Read in 2022?
- “The thought manifests as the word; / The word manifests as the deed; / The deed develops into habit; / And habit hardens into character. / So, watch the thought and its ways with care, / And let it spring from love / Born out of concern for all beings.” –The Buddha (Dhammapada)
- Shortest & Longest Book You Read in 2022?
- Shortest: Mirror Factory by Carolyn Oliver (27 pages)
- Longest: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (830 pages)
- Book that Shocked You the Most?
- Inside the Storm I Want to Touch the Tremble by Carolyn Oliver (so good!)
- Favorite Book You Read in 2022 from an Author You’ve Read Previously?
- The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
- Best book you read in 2022 based solely on someone else’s recommendation?
- The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (5 stars!!)
- Best 2022 debut you read?
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
- Best World-building/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Book that put a Smile on Your Face/Was the most FUN to Read?
- And They Lived by Steven Salvatore
- Book That Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2022?
- The Dove in the Belly by Jim Grimsley
- Hidden Gem of the Year?
- Ready When You Are by Gary Lonesborough
- Book That Crushed Your Soul?
- Call Me By My True Names by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Most Unique Book You Read in 2022?
- Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco
- Book That Made You the Maddest (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
- Reclaiming Two-Spirits by Gregory D. Smithers (read it!)
- Favorite review that you wrote in 2022?
- Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
- Most Popular Post This Year on Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
- Post You Wished Got a Little More Love?
- Did you complete any reading challenges or goals set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
- YES! I “won” my TBR Pile Challenge this year.
- One book on your list in 2022 that you didn’t read but definitely will get to in 2023?
- The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
- Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2023 (non-debut)?
- Different for Boys by Patrick Ness
- 2023 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
- Jenna Miller’s Out of Character!
- Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2023?
- Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods!!!! (by Rick Riordan)
- Something you hope to accomplish in your reading/blogging life in 2023?
- A more regular presence here at the blog seems like a good goal. I might have to slow down the reading part of things and spend more time writing. ßI wrote that last year. Let’s keep it and try again!
There it is, my year in reading and blogging! If you’re interested, come back on January 1 for my monthly retrospective. (I’ll be sharing my favorite book read in each month of the year during 2022).
How was your reading year? Please share your favorites in the comments or let me know if any books in my review have sparked your interest.
Happy New Year!
December Checkpoint #TBR2022RBR
And so it ends.
As we head into the final few days of 2022, I wanted to post briefly about the challenge and people’s progress, including my own. First, though, I want to say that I’m very excited to bring back this challenge in 2023. It will be our TENTH year. Can you believe it? Sign-up here! (#TBRYear10)
As to my challenge progress this year, while I was hoping to finish all fourteen books on my list, which means the twelve challenge titles and the two alternates, it looks like I’ll be finishing at just thirteen of fourteen. That said, it’s one of the very few times I’ve actually “won” the challenge, having completed and reviewed at least the minimum twelve. So, hoorah!
My Original List, Linked to Reviews
- Chicago Poems (1916) by Carl Sandburg
- Crush (2005) by Richard Siken
- Rimbaud: Complete Poems and Prose (2002) by Arthur Rimbaud
- Nature Poem (2017) by Tommy Pico
- Madness (2017) by Sam Sax
- When My Brother was an Aztec (2012) by Natalie Diaz
- A Book of Common Prayer (1977) by Joan Didion
- If Beale Street Could Talk (1974) by James Baldwin
- Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) by Jesmyn Ward
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) by Robert M. Pirsig
- A People’s History of the United States (1999) by Howard Zinn
- A Poet’s Guide to Poetry (1999) by Mary Kinzie
Alternates:
- A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003) by Bill Bryson
- The Warmth of Other Suns (2010) by Isabel Wilkerson (not pictured)
Of this list, I would have to say that my favorites were Sing, Unburied, Sing; Rimbaud: Complete; and Crush.
We do have some folks who have commented on the master post indicating that they are finished – outstanding! After the year ends, I will be going back to The Mister Linky to randomly select a winner from all the participant posts this year. Remember, all your linked reviews for completed books from your original TBR Pile list (which I have saved), plus ONE final wrap-up post, will earn you entries into the final giveaway, provided you have linked them all to our Mister Linky by January 14th. I will be selecting the winner on January 15th and announcing it on our first checkpoint post for 2023. To put it simply:
- How to be entered to win: Link up reviews for any/all completed book on your original list before January 14th.
- How to get a bonus entry: Link up a challenge wrap-up post before January 14th.
- How to get a second bonus entry: If you COMPLETED your challenge (at least 12 out of 14 books read and reviewed), leave a comment on this post by December 31 saying so; I will check your links and/or your wrap-up post, if you provide one, and add your name to the “Current Completers” list below.
- One winner will be selected randomly on January 15th and be notified via blog/email.
- Only those who originally registered for this challenge last year and have been participating are eligible to be entered. (I have all original lists saved.)
If you’re out there and you’ve finished your challenge, be sure to leave a comment letting us know! If you didn’t finish – what kind of progress did you make? 1 of 12? 6 of 12? Even reading one book is a step in the right direction, so if you gave it a shot – good for you!
Which books from your list did you love? Which ones did you hate?
Which books or reading challenges are you looking forward to in 2023?
Roof Beam Reader 